In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “desert in the west bank and israel that lies east of jerusalem and descends to the dead sea”. Today it says “desert in the west bank and israel that stretches east of the ridge of the judaean mountains and in their rain”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2025 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2025
Judaean Desert Location of Judaean Desert in Israel and the West Bank in red The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( Hebrew : מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה , romanized : Midbar Yehuda , Arabic : برية الخليل , romanized : Bariyat al-Khalil ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that stretches east of the ridge of the Judaean Mountains and in their rain shadow , so east of Jerusalem , and descends to the Dead Sea . The Judaean Desert has historically functioned as a place of refuge for rebels and displaced populations. According to the Hebrew Bible , David took shelter there while fleeing from King Saul . The Hasmonean rulers of Judaea, and their successor, Herod the Great , built several monumental fortresses in the region, including Herodium , Hyrcania , and Masada . In the period of the Jewish–Roman Wars , the desert became a key theater of conflict, with Roman forces besieging major strongholds. Caves in the area, such as the Cave of Letters and the Cave of Horrors , later served as hiding places for Jewish refugees , preserving personal documents, religious texts, skeletons, weapons, clothing, and household items—thanks to the region's arid climate. The desert also attracted religious sects, including the classical-era Jewish ascetics of Qumran (likely Essenes ) and Byzantine -era Christian monks who practiced spiritual isolation in local lavras . Under the name El-Bariyah , it has been nominated to the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in the West Bank and Israel, particularly for its monastic ruins.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1298089452.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Mar Saba , in the Kidron Valley . The Judaean Desert ( Midbar Yehuda , both Desert of Judah or Judaean Desert ; Sahara Yahudan ) is a desert in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea . It stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El , and is marked by terraces with escarpments . It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley . The Judaean Desert is crossed by numerous wadis from northeast to southeast and has many ravines , most of them deep, from 1,200 feet in the west to 600 feet in the east. The Judaean Desert is an area with a special morphological structure along the east of the Judaean Mountains . It is sometimes known as Yeshimon , meaning desert or wildland , or yet Wilderness of Judah or Wilderness of Judaea , among others.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 663638904.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Desert in the southern Levant Location of Judaean Desert in Israel and the West Bank in red The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( Midbar Yehuda , both Desert of Judah or Judaean Desert ; Sahraa' Yahuda ) is a desert in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea . It stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El , and is marked by natural terraces with escarpments . It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley . The Judaean Desert is crossed by numerous wadis from northeast to southeast and has many ravines , most of them deep, from 366 metres (1,201 ft) in the west to 183 metres (600 ft) in the east. The Judaean Desert is an area with a special morphological structure along the east of the Judaean Mountains . It is sometimes known as Yeshimon , meaning desert or wildland , or yet Wilderness of Judah or Wilderness of Judaea , among others. Geography and Politics in Israel Since 1967 .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 965256436.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Desert in the southern Levant Judaean Desert Location of Judaean Desert in Israel and the West Bank in red The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( , ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea .Under the name El-Bariyah , it has been nominated to the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in the State of Palestine , particularly for its monastic ruins.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177010236.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “desert in the west bank and israel that lies east of jerusalem and descends to the dead sea”. Today it says “desert in the west bank and israel that stretches east of the ridge of the judaean mountains and in their rain”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
desert in the west bank and israel that lies east of jerusalem and descends to the dead sea
Now
desert in the west bank and israel that stretches east of the ridge of the judaean mountains and in their rain
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
